7-11 Club provides volunteers in New London

By Jim Paul

Formed in July 2008 by a group of friends who had aged out of the Jaycees, the 7-11 Club’s motto is “We are here to help.”

The 7-11 Club takes its name from the starting time for its monthly meetings – 7:11 p.m. the second Wednesday of every mont. If the meeting lands on the 11th the beer is free.

Anybody is welcome to join the 7-11 Club and dues are $7.11 for a year.

According to Club Secretary-Treasurer Judi Barrington, the 7-11 Club’s founding members missed the camaraderie of the Jaycees and they thought it would be fun to have a social club that would also help organizations out.

Barrington said the 7-11 is much more informal and less structured than the Jaycees were.

“The club is an essential part of the community. It not only brings help and organization to many activities in our town, being a nonprofit and hands on help is an amazing task,” said member Cheryl Pues. “It is a behind the scenes, important and nearly never recognized group of fabulous people from all over.”

“We are here if somebody needs help, we are more than willing to volunteer our time,” said 711 Club member Larry Howard. “We certainly are there to help anybody that needs us to come.”

The 7-11 Club volunteers time helping other clubs and organizations out, the only project they have of their own is the Adopt-A-Highway.

The club offers manpower to events or they offer their know-how in things like fundraising.

In the past the 7-11 Club has helped out at Farm Progress Days, concessions at youth baseball, the Shamrock Club at Irish Fest and the Lions Club with their concession stand at Memorial Park.

The7-11 Club also helps out the New London Chamber of Commerce and is appreciated by director April Kopitzke.

“The 7-11 Club is an established group of volunteers that support the New London community in many ways. They are a quiet, humble group that believes in giving back through acts of community service,” Kopitzke said. “The Chamber of Commerce works with this group when we tackle large events. We have a small staff of three, but we do large events that sometimes require hundreds of volunteers. They are the first to step up and help. They believe in selfless service and our community is fortunate to have them.”

Anybody interested in joining the 7-11 Club can contact them at [email protected] They will also be holding a new membership drive at their Jan. 11, 2023 meeting at Hilby’s Sports Bar and Restaurant located at 300 S. Pearl Street, New London.